How should I go about selling my laptop?

March 7, 2008 10:37 AM

I'm looking to sell my old toshiba P30 laptop its about 3 years old. Its got a 3.4ghz p4 in it with hyperthreading or w/e a gig of ram and a dedicated 128 meg video card which still seems plenty for most things what would be the best price you think i should sell it for and how i should approach doing this because i want to try to get a newer but more mobile laptop than a big honking 17"
posted by Chamunks to computers & internet (9 comments total)

I'd search for similar machines on ebay to find the price at which they're selling.

Then I'd sell it on ebay or craigslist.
posted by sharkfu at 10:48 AM on March 7, 2008

I just bought a new laptop at costco. it runs vista home premium with all the bells 'n whistles. it cost $500.

The particulars of your hardware are immaterial. the age and nature of your equipment is such that it would be immoral to attempt to sell it for more than $250, when you consider the life span of the LCD backlight, the thermal problems of compact computers, the expired warranty. you'd basically be ripping someone off to take any more for it.
posted by momocrome at 10:53 AM on March 7, 2008

see thats where its confusing the ebay listing prices are all ranging hugely in price like this machine runs nicely still has all the origional stuff box and all and i see similarly powered hardware going for close to 700 on ebay at the very least. But since i hate the idea of using paypal to recieve money from anyone i dont know for sure what im going to do.
posted by Chamunks at 11:01 AM on March 7, 2008

its also had little to no actual use in the last year and a half since i bought a desktop so lifespan of backlights and all that arent really a concern.
posted by Chamunks at 11:03 AM on March 7, 2008

Nice work, grumpy. Very helpful.

Here's the thing, Chamunks. For the past few months, Dell has been routinely selling its Vostro 1000, with Win XP and comparably kitted out to your used computer, for between $400 - 450. They don't seem to have one for sale today, but earlier in the week it was going for $419 w/free shipping. So that puts a cap on what you're going to get. My back of the envelope guess is you'd be doing well to get $350 for yours. I'd sell it for cash thru Craigslist, avoiding eBay and PayPal fees. But, momocrome not withstanding, if your computer's in good shape, I'd have no qualms taking $350 were I you.
posted by mojohand at 11:06 AM on March 7, 2008

What sharkfu said. The one I saw on eBay is going for $255. Don't expect too much since even the cheapest Wal-mart special model will be able to run circles around it performance wise and come with a new computer warranty.

I've sold all of my past notebooks on eBay w/o getting ripped off. Only accept PayPal. Say in your ad you will not ship outside the US and Canada (or leave Canada off if you don't want to deal with the export form at the post office). You will get emails from people saying they will are interested in buying your computer for more than a new one costs if only they can pay be Western Union or check. You'll also get people offering a boatload if you'll send it to somewhere in Asia. Ignore these because they are obvious scams. You will find a legit buyer and get a few bucks to go toward your next computer purchase.

What I do is erase the hard drive and install the OS/software from the original disks that came with it and then run the software updates. Don't sell it offering software you plan on not supplying the original disks and using on your new PC. (many people do, but that is violating the license agreement or in the case of warez reselling stolen merch). If you have extras like additional power supplies or a auto/air adapter add that into what you're selling. You can make more if you use original photos of the product working. Also, be frank about cosmetic damage to avoid a customer sat issue when the buyer gets it and realizes it isn't in pristine condition. Look at closed and active options for PCs like it and use the buzzwords others are using in successful auctions.

Craigslist is another option but limits it to your area and you go with a set price versus an auction. I've had some stuff sell for hundreds more than I expected so I've been happy with the auction process. I use craigslist for things I am willing to unload cheap and fast -- and things that are heavy and expensive to ship like desktop PCs and monitors. Why would someone pay $80 to ship a 20" CRT monitor they paid $30 for when for a few bucks more Newegg will sell them a brand new LCD monitor?
posted by birdherder at 11:13 AM on March 7, 2008

On Posting: To get eBay comps, pay no attention to what people list their computers for. Do a "completed listings only' search to see what people actually *got* when the dust settles. I seriously doubt anyone got $700 for a box like yours, but maybe I'm wrong. Buyers like that are never around when I want to sell something, that I do know.
posted by mojohand at 11:14 AM on March 7, 2008

Momcrome is way off the mark when he says that, "the particulars of your hardware are immaterial..." I mean, that's borderline irresponsible advice right there.

Look, you can waste a bunch of time searching completed ebay auctions and whatever, or you can just list it quickly on Craig's List.

I think $300 - $350 is reasonable, depending upon condition and battery life. If you don't get any bites the first few days you can lower the price $20 or so and try again.
posted by wfrgms at 11:18 AM on March 7, 2008

well for some reason i've found with craigslist and kijiji listing items is quite the ordeal of guesswork because raising and lowering the price of your item allways seems to have really drastically different effects like this kitchen set i sold recently for 500 wouldent sell for weeks on end for 100 or so but as soon as i tried bumping up the price someone snatched it up like it was on clearance... It was a totally awesome hand made kitchen set but i just wanted rid of it. but I almost would prefer to trade it because ultimately i want to get myself an EEEpc instead of this big lug...

I just wanted something that ill keep with me most of the time because i travel allot and dont do anything truly advanced like the most i would do on the road is flash video for as far as more demmanding rendering goes... The battery was taken care of maticulously so its only shaved about 30 mins off the initial discharge time.

Im getting an extra 350 or so for modding my eeepc as soon as i get it like ram and 3g wireless or something like that. but yeah ill stop rambeling on.
posted by Chamunks at 11:44 AM on March 7, 2008